First off, sorry for the long absence! It's been awhile so my writing is bound to be out-of-date and crappy and everyone a little OoC. Please forgive me! I need to get back into the swing of things :c

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"I can't believe we're actually wearing matching shirts," I said in disbelief, staring at Paul as he came downstairs into the kitchen.

It hadn't even been on purpose either. I'd decided to wear maroon long sleeve tee because it matched well with my hair. And somehow Paul had managed to dig out a shirt I'd never seen him wear before that was the exact same shade. The only difference was that my shirt had a mesh back and his was short-sleeved. But still, close enough.

"Can we take a picture?" he asked excitedly.

"No."

He pouted. "You're no fun."

I rolled my eyes at him. "I said we shouldn't match. Elliot's going to hate us. I can't believe you invited him to be a third wheel."

"No way! He's going to love us. I invited Aspen too."

I raised an eyebrow. "She said she had a date."

"Fortunately for us when I texted her this morning her date had cancelled on her," he responded happily. "So now it's a double date."

"Wait, wait, how do you even have her number?"

He gave me a mysterious smile. "I don't know..."

"Did you go through my phone?" I accused.

"For good reason!"

Puffing my cheeks, I turned my back on him. "You better have something good planned for today."

"I do!" he said. Shuffling his feet he sighed. "I know Elliot means a lot to you, Allie. I didn't invite him along because I didn't want to spend the day alone with you. I just thought you'd want Elliot to have someone to spend time with."

Twisting back around, I walked straight up to Paul, wrapping my arms around him and giving him a tight hug. Of course that would be what he was thinking. Was I coming off as angry? "You're the best," I assured him.

He rubbed my back. "I try to be."

"You're right. It would suck for Elliot to be alone today. I'm glad you're forcing him to hang out with us."

Taking my hand, he snatched his keys off the table. "It'll be fun. I just hope no one breaks anything..."

His comment made me nervous. Break something? "What exactly are we doing today?"

"You'll see," he said in a sing-song voice.

Unsurprisingly for a February day, it was freezing outside. I'd bundled up in a peacoat and a scarf, blinking rapidly to keep my eyes from watering due to the dry air. Paul, being the great man he was, thought ahead to preheat the car.

"You're a saint," I said, sliding into the passenger's seat and into the warmth coming from the car vents.

"You're just easily pleased," he replied.

Amazingly, Elliot was waiting outside for us when we arrived at his house. I'd thought we'd have to drag him out kicking and screaming. He stood hunched over, obviously freezing even though he was all bundled up. It was still a little weird seeing him wearing street clothes instead of the school uniform, but he looked good in whatever he wore. I unlocked the doors as he waddled over to the car. Once he got in and I turned around to grin at him. "Happy Valentine's Day!"

He gave me a flat look in return.

Not perturbed, I reached into the paper bag I'd brought, pulling out a box of chocolates I'd bought for him. "Here you go!"

"Why did you waste your money on this?" he sighed, put took it anyway.

"Because it's Valentine's day and chocolate is good," I defended myself. "And you're my friend and I wanted to buy you something. Didn't you get me something?"

I was only half-joking, but when Elliot dug his hand into his pocket and pulled out a little package of chocolate, I was actually shocked. He dropped it into my hand and turned his head away from me, obviously embarrassed. "There."

"Did you make this?" I asked excitedly.

"Maybe."

I beamed at him. And here I was thinking he still might be upset with me. "Thanks Elliot! I should've made you something... I'm so lazy I just bought stuff."

He waved me off. "It's fine. I have some for Paul too."

"I'll share Allie's," Paul told him.

I turned my head to him, pursing my lips. "You will not! These are mine."

"Elliot needs a gift for his date."

"My date?" Elliot echoed.

"Aspen is coming along with us," Paul informed him, glancing in the rear-view window at the younger man. "Let's get along today."

Elliot sighed heavily. "I don't see why I have to join you guys anyway."

"So grumpy people like you don't hate Valentine's Day for no reason," Paul replied, backing out of the driveway cautiously.

Rolling his eyes, Elliot crossed his arms over his chest. "You're just like my sister. Her and Oli tried getting me to go out with them too."

Yeah, Harley did seem like the type of person who wanted everyone to be happy. "I'm sure whatever we do will be fun," I promised him.

"You don't know what we're doing?"

"Nope."

"It's a secret," Paul added, a sly grin on his face.

Elliot sighed. "Great."

Despite warning Aspen we'd be at her house in five minutes, she still wasn't ready by the time we pulled up. After idling for about ten minutes, she finally appeared, rushing down the driveway to the car, nearly slipping on the pavement. "Sorry!" she apologized, cheeks red from the cold.

"Hey," I greeted her. "Cute scarf."

She tugged at the silver scarf encompassing her neck and shrugged her shoulders. "Decided to give scarves a go this winter. I think my boobs are too big to wear them though..."

Both the boys in the car stayed quiet, pretending they didn't hear that comment. I laughed. "It looks fine. Right Elliot?"

The young man started a bit, opening his mouth and glancing at Aspen. "Uh... yeah."

Aspen scratched the back of her head. "Ah, thanks..."

I grimaced, feeling the awkward tension between them. While Elliot wasn't mad at us anymore for teasing him, Aspen still hadn't got a chance to apologize to him. I eyed Aspen, giving her a pointed look. Now was her best chance.

She sighed, chewing on her bottom lip. "Look, Elliot, I'm really sorry about before. I'm a bitch, I know, and I shouldn't have—"

"It's fine," he interjected, shaking his head. "Whatever."

"Let me apologize because I feel really bad," she said back. "So I'm sorry. Forgive me? I want us to be friends."

Elliot seemed surprised by her words. I wondered briefly if he never really thought that Aspen thought of him as a friend. "I said it's fine, so it's fine," he snapped at her.

I hid a smile. Aww. He was embarrassed. Aspen must've known this too, because she seemed pleased with herself.

"Well, now that we're all getting along, let's have some fun," Paul spoke up, eyeing the pair in the backseat. "You guys ever been ice skating before?"

"Ice skating?" I echoed excitedly. "We're going ice skating?"

Paul nodded. "Yup!"

"I love ice skating!" Aspen told him happily.

"I've never been but I've always wanted too," I said, turning in my seat so I could see Aspen better. "You'll have to teach me."

Aspen shot Paul a suggestive look. "I'm not the teacher here. Someone else could help you learn better, I think."

I glanced at Paul as well. Did he even know how to ice skate? Maybe this was his first time too. That'd be great, so I wouldn't be the only one learning.

"I'm actually pretty good at ice skating," Paul informed us, crushing my hopes. "I did ice hockey for awhile when I was younger."

"Elliot?" I tried.

He shook his head. "Never been."

"Good! We can learn together."

"I think you'll need more help than me," he said, a hint of amusement in his voice.

I waved him off. "I doubt it. I've been rollerblading before."

"Allie, that's not exactly the same," Paul told me, grinning.

"Sure it is. Just watch, I'll be fine."

I didn't miss the apprehensive look Paul and the two in back gave each other. Whatever, I'd show them.

*

The ice skating rink was colder than I'd expected. I don't know how I didn't realize it would be cold since it was ice, but I felt a little uncomfortable in only a long sleeve. I could only imagine how Paul felt, in his t-shirt. When I looked at him though, he seemed fine. All smiles and happiness as he paid for all of our rentals.

"Thanks for paying Paul!" Aspen said cheerfully as she took a pair of skates from the boy at the counter.

"Size eight, I think," when the young worker turned to me.

"Eleven," Elliot said and I gaped at him. "What?" he snapped when he caught me staring.

"Your feet are huge!"

"Eleven is not big for guys," he said, rolling his eyes.

"But Paul is only a size nine!"

Paul coughed, turning his head from us. "Allie."

"What?"

"Forget it," Paul said, making a shooing motion. "Let's just relax and have fun ice skating. And hope no one ends up in the hospital."

Elliot patted my shoulder. "He's talking about you."

I shrugged off his hand. "I won't be falling down once."

Which was partially true. I'd be falling down more than once. In fact, the minute I put my foot down on the ice I fell straight on my butt. Paul hopped onto the ice like a pro and offered me a hand. I grabbed it and tried to stand up, but ended up slipping again, almost pulling him down with me.

"Maybe you should practice falling so you don't get hurt," Paul suggested.

I shot him a dirty look. "Maybe you should shut up."

He put his palms up in defense. "Sorry, sorry."

I pursed my lips. "I didn't mean that."

"I know," he told me with a smile. "Let's get you up. Elliot, can you help?"

Suddenly two hands went under my armpits and lifted me all the way up until my feet touched the ice. I was wobbling for a moment and I spread my arms, trying to gain my balance.

"You okay?" Elliot asked, eyeing me carefully.

I nodded. "I thought you said you've never ice skated before," I added accusingly, noticing how steadily he was perched on the ice.

He shrugged. "Some things come naturally."

"Then let's skate," I said, fixing my eyes on the center of the rink. I'd show these guys!

Aspen quickly grabbed my arm before I could move. "Woah there Yuzuru Hanyu, why don't you start off by going around the rink and holding onto the wall?"

"Who?"

"Nevermind," she sighed. "Just don't go right into the middle of the rink. You'll hurt yourself and innocent bystanders."

Paul made a noise of agreement. "Do you want me to hold your hand?"

I shook my head immediately. "N-no! What if someone from our school comes?" Besides, holding hands with Paul in front of Elliot? That was basically rubbing it into his face!

"Move," Elliot demanded, pushing me to the edge of the rink. "Start practicing."

"Wanna race?" I heard Aspen ask Paul.

"Ready set go!" came Pauls rushed response and I watched as he took off on the ice.

"Not fair!" Aspen called after him, easily gliding into the rink.

I watched in jealously. Not fair.

"Are you going to move or not?"

I shot a dirty look at Elliot. "I'm working on it." Grabbing onto the cold ledge of the rink, I slowly began shuffling my feet forward, feeling my knees wobbling.

"Just focus ahead of you, it'll help keep your balance," Elliot said, following behind me. He was also holding onto the edge of the rink.

"You can go play with them if you're comfortable enough on the ice," I said. "You don't need to stay and babysit me."

"Go faster."

Huffing, I slid my feet along the ground a little quicker. Elliot trailed along behind me, keeping a short distance.

"It's so cold in here," I complained.

"What piece are you going to do for Nationals?"

"You're still on about that?"

"It's important," he said flatly.

"I'm not sure yet. I'll find something eventually."

Although he didn't say anything, I could feel Elliot rolling his eyes. "Sure."

While I understood everyone wanting me to choose a piece for Nationals, it was stressful on me. I couldn't just choose any random piece. It had to be good enough to beat the best of the best. And for the time being, I just wanted to relax for a bit.

"Don't keep looking at your feet," he suddenly scolded me. "Keep focused on where your going."

"What makes you so pro?" I retorted.

"I haven't fell yet," he said, sounding a little haughty.

I straightened my back. "Well I won't fall again."

After a few laps around the rink, I felt like I kind of got the hang of it and decided to let go of the rail. Which was a dumb decision because I felt my feet slip out from under me right away and I fell back into Elliot, causing him to fall as well.

"Ow!" we cried in unison.

"Crap, sorry!" I apologized, trying to climb off of him.

"You're an idiot," was his response.

"No, you're an idiot."

When he didn't banter back, I turned around and frowned. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, maybe not right now, but I will be."

For a second I was confused. Until I realized he wasn't talking about me falling on him. "Elliot—"

"Why did you invite me with you guys anyway?" he demanded, pushing himself into a sitting position. "It would've been better if it was just you and Paul. He could've taught you."

"We invited you to have fun," I told him.

"So you find out I like you then invite me along for a double date with you and Paul?" he said, sounding irritated.

My heart dropped into my stomach. "That's not why—"

"I know," he interjected. "No. I didn't mean to say it that way."

"We only wanted you to have fun today," I promised him. "We're your friends."

Elliot scrunched up his face. After a moment he let out a long breath. "I know, Allie. I shouldn't have said that. I hope you and Paul work out in the end," he said, turning his head away from me. "But just so you know I won't give up on my feelings and I'll be here if you ever need me."

"Elliot..."

"And I don't want any pity. Got it?" He turned his head back to me, face stern.

For a moment I was at a loss for words. It just didn't seem fair to Elliot. But what could I do? I couldn't make him change his feelings. And he was allowed to feel however he wanted to. "What's this?" I said, feigning a shocked look. "Elliot going all sappy on me?"

Immediately her face turned bright red and he glared at me. "Shut up, idiot."

I laughed. As long as Elliot remained who he was, anything was fine with me.

"You guys giving up already?"

Looking up, I saw Paul standing over us and smiling. "Need help?" He offered me his hand.

I took it and actually managed to stand up. Then I held out my hand to Elliot and with some help from Paul we managed to get him off his feet as well.

"How about we hold hands that way it's easier?" Paul suggested, still holding onto my hand.

"I'm not holding hands with you," Elliot immediately responded, giving Paul a disgusted look.

The older man grinned evilly. "Then Aspen will hold your hand."

"I sure will!" Aspen chirped, appearing out of nowhere and slinging an arm over Elliot's shoulder.

Elliot tried to shrug her off. "Get your hand off me!"

"Come on! I'll teach you a double axle!" She slid her hand down to Elliot's wrist and started tugging him.

"S-stop!" he cried, teetering on his feet as she dragged him away from us.

"Will he be okay?" I asked Paul.

Paul shrugged. "Maybe."

"I think he's still upset by the whole... you know," I said, frowning at Paul.

Paul patted my shoulder. "I know. And he will be for awhile. But there's nothing you can do but continue to be his friend."

My shoulders sagged. "I wish I could do more."

"You could always dump me and date him?"

"Never!"

Paul ruffled the hair on my head. "Well I'm happy to hear that. Now come on, I'll help you skate without the railing."

"Are you sure?" I said uneasily. "I might die—"

"Let's go," he interjected, grabbing my hands. "Just skate toward me. I've been waiting to skate with you, but I felt Elliot and you needed some time."

"You're smart," I responded with a smile.

"You're cute. Now skate."

I did as he said, keeping eye contact and slowly moving my feet. And didn't slip. "I'm doing it!" I said excitedly, moving one foot forward at a time.

"See? It's not so hard."

"Don't let go of my hands," I warned him.

He smiled down at me, green eyes bright. "I won't."

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Alright so first and foremost I made some slight changes to recent chapters because I didn't like what happened with Olivia. She and Allie are still acquaintancs now but I changed how they became so.

Second, I apologize if you guys have to go back and re-read everything ): I know it's been so long. I've had major writer's block. Even this chapter took like a month to finish.

Next, please go support me by purchasing my book Gold Rush! It's now available in the US and UK only for Kindle! I'd really like to see it in paperback everywhere but I need the support from these two countries in order to do so. If you don't like it, if you've never read it, please give it a chance. It's definitely not my favorite book, but I'm trying to get my name out there. There are links in my profile!

Moving on, if you haven't already, please follow me. This will also help with potential publishers. They like seeing a good fan following and I'd really appreciate it! I also have a FB, Twitter, and Tumblr and Instagram. Links are all in my bio! (except Insta bc it's private, but my account is JordanLynde_ same as my twitter)

I have an advice blog now! Check it out! There's a link in my profileeeee.

I have a few major things happening that I think you guys would be intrested in. Please keep up with me so you'll know when I am able to announce them. One might even have something to do with a movie... ;)